The EU-Turkey Deal on Refugees. One Year on
Does EU law turn the deal into an undoable promise? Should this rather be explained by the worsened EU-Turkey relations? What is the situation of those trapped in the Greek islands or returned to Turkey? Are they granted adequate protection status and living conditions?
Actividad realizada
CIDOB, sala Jordi Maragall, Elisabets 12,08001 Barcelona
CIDOB with the support of the Europe for Citizens programme
The EU-Turkey deal (signed in March 2016) aimed to reduce irregular arrivals to the Greek islands by allowing Greece to return to Turkey every person arriving irregularly. In exchange, EU Member States agreed to take one Syrian refugee from Turkey for every Syrian returned back, accelerate visa liberalisation for Turkish nationals and increase financial support for Turkey’s refugee population. One year later, less than 1,000 people (out of 27,000) have been returned to Turkey. Does EU law turn the deal into an undoable promise? Should this rather be explained by the worsened EU-Turkey relations? What is the situation of those trapped in the Greek islands or returned to Turkey? Are they granted adequate protection status and living conditions? These questions will be addressed in two sessions, a first one focused on EU-Turkey relations and a second one on immigrants’ conditions in Turkey and Greece.